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By DAVID WATSON / dwatson@wyosports.net • Sunday, May 22, 2011
SHERIDAN – The run of state titles has ended for the Laramie High girl’s soccer team.
It is ironic that the three-time defending state champion Lady Plainsmen were actually the underdog in the championship game of the Class 4A State Soccer Tournament.
But that was the scenario Saturday afternoon when Laramie hooked up with Gillette at the Big Horn Equestrian Center to try to add a fourth championship in program history.
The game was as advertised when a 3-1 shootout decided the 2-1 outcome to secure the Camels’ first ever state title.
Laramie (13-6 overall) was the second seed from the East Conference and Gillette (17-2) was the top seed from the same league after beating LHS twice during the regular season and again in the regional championship match.
“We knew we worked really hard to get to this point and we’ve been through a lot this season,” LHS first-year coach Raquel Macias said. “We were pumped to carry on the history and legacy that is Lady Plainsmen soccer. The girls weren’t just going to back down to anyone today.”
It was also the third straight final between the Lady Plainsmen and Camels. Laramie won the previous two with the help of former Gatorade Players of the Year Ariela Schreibeis and Makenzie Meade last season. Gillette had current Gatorade Player of the Year in senior midfielder Sheree Small in its back pocket this year.
Small, who has signed to play for the University of Wyoming in the fall, rose to the occasion to score the first goal of the game in the 23rd minute on a right-side assist from senior Brittney Lacek. It was the first time the Camels pressured Laramie’s side of the field after the Lady Plainsmen came out of the chutes with the early momentum.
Even though Laramie was against a 35-40 mph wind, combined with a cold rain that enveloped the region for the entire three-day tourney, it managed to set the tempo in the first 20 minutes with early scoring opportunities and shots.
But it was the Camels that went into halftime with the 1-0 lead.
“I told them we didn’t come this far to not come back and finish,” Macias said.
Freshman midfielder Haley Moon scored the equalizer for Laramie in the 43rd minute when she used the wind to curve a corner kick from the right past Camel senior keeper Missy Schultz into the netting. It was the seventh goal for Moon, who led Laramie with 14 assists on the season.
“I really wasn’t expecting it to go in, but when it did I was pretty happy,” Moon said. “I thought we played really well and dominated. We just didn’t have enough attacking opportunities and we didn’t get the ball up enough while playing mostly defense for the whole game.”
The rest of regulation featured both defenses turning away several scoring chances for each team.
Lady Plainsmen senior Haley Ahrenholtz was especially motivated in trying to keep Small and Lacek in check. She also sparked the offense when she took it upon herself to bring the ball down the right side of the field and drew a foul for a free kick in the second overtime period.
“We just had to keep our heads up and try to keep working hard,” Ahrenholtz said. “We gave it our all, so we have to be proud of ourselves.”
When the final whistle blew at the end of 100 minutes of action, the title came down the goalkeepers, junior Rachel Rettinger for Laramie and Schultz for Gillette, and the best pure shooters for both clubs.
Gillette made good on all three of its shots from Small, junior Tiffany Polson and Lacek in that order, the first two shots into the low corner and the third to the middle right of the goal.
Needing to stay closer than a two goal difference for a chance to win, Ahrenholtz missed over the crossbar and Moon converted in the lower right corner. But when Schultz dove to her left to save Laramie sophomore Lindsey Martinez’s blast and freshman Jacqui Pulley was wide left the shootout ended in favor of the Camels, 3-1.
“It was exciting, very intense and the girls stepped up to the challenge,” Macias said. “I was very proud of them. … You hate to come up short and lose in a shootout, but it was a good season for us.”
–
CAMELS 2, LADY PLAINSMEN 1 (SO, 3-1)
(Girls)
Laramie 0 1 0 0 (1) — 1
Gillette 1 0 0 0 (3) — 2
—
First Half
Gillette — Sheree Small (23:00). Assist: Brittney Lacek.
Second Half
Laramie — Haley Moon (43:00). Assist: unassisted (corner kick).
First and Second Overtimes
No scoring.
Shootout
Gillette – Sheree Small, Tiffany Polson, Brittney Lacek.
Laramie – Haley Moon.
Shots: Laramie 9, Gillette 11. Shots on goal: Laramie 3, Gillette 7. Saves: Laramie 6 (Rachel Rettinger 6), Gillette 2 (Missy Schultz 2). Fouls: Laramie 9, Gillette 11. Offsides: Laramie 0, Gillette 0. Corner kicks: Laramie 5, Gillette 0. Cards: Gillette Brittney Lacek (yellow).
No repeat for Plainsmen
By Jeremiah Johnke / jjohnke@wyosports.net
SHERIDAN – Hunter Reece made one of the niftier runs of the Class 4A State Soccer Tournament.
It also was the one that delivered Sheridan its first boys soccer championship.
Reece, a junior, took a pass down the right side from classmate Scott Brown, beat two defenders and slammed a shot off the far post and past Laramie goalkeeper Andrew Amen in the 30th minute of Saturday’s title tilt.
That goal was the difference as the Broncs (14-5-1) took a 2-1 win at the Big Horn Equestrian Center.
“I needed that finish because I have had so much trouble finishing all season,” Reece said. “That was my third goal this year and it was the one that mattered the most.”
Laramie, the reigning 4A champs, scored first when Brock Mosier took Alex Young’s throw in and hit a low, hard shot that eluded the grasp of Sheridan junior keeper Cole Smith.
The Plainsmen (13-3-2) hadn’t gotten many shots off to that point, but it had controlled possession. That goal woke up the Broncs, Laramie assistant Kelly Leichtman said.
“After that goal, Sheridan really came out and fired back up again,” said Leichtman, who coached Laramie because head coach Andy Pannell had to sit out the match because he was red carded during Friday’s semifinal.
“We let it slip away and had to keep fighting uphill for the last 50 minutes of the game,” Leichtman added. “It was great to get an early goal. I just wish our guys would have capitalized on it.
“Our boys played their hearts out (Saturday) and I give everything to them. This is a great group of guys to deal with and it hurts to see them lose.”
Laramie was limited to just eight shots, three of which were on goal. The slick, windy and rainy conditions kept the Plainsmen from executing their game plan.
“We like to get the ball around the back and switch it side-to-side, but, with this wind, we were having a hard time using the whole field,” Leichtman said. “We had to play a little bit differently.”
Sheridan — which made its first state title game appearance last spring — came alive after Mosier’s goal. The Broncs took eight of their 12 shots in the first 40 minutes.
That included Zach Will’s corner kick, which hit a Laramie defender and went into the goal to knot the score 1-1.
Reece was on the sideline waiting to be substituted in when Will notched the equalizer. He recorded the eventual game-winning tally in the 30th.
“We needed to get a goal quickly because momentum doesn’t last long in this game,” Reece said.
Sheridan coach Kevin Rizer said his team learned a lot from last season’s state championship loss to Laramie and it was every bit as valuable to the Broncs’ confidence as their 1-0 win over the Plainsmen in the East Regional championship May 14.
“Our school had never been close (to a state championship) before,” he said. “Last year was a milestone in school history and part of a learning process. … I felt like we got after (Laramie) a little bit in the regional title game and it made our boys realize, ‘Hey, we can do this and we can win this thing.’”
BRONCS 2, PLAINSMEN 1
(Boys)
Sheridan 2 0 — 2
Laramie 1 0 — 1
First Half
Laramie – Brock Mosier (7:00), Assist: Alex Young.
Sheridan – Zach Will (27:00), unassisted
Sheridan – Hunter Reece (30:00), Assist: Scott Brown.
Second Half
No scoring.
Shots: Laramie 8, Sheridan 12. Shots on goal: Laramie 3, Sheridan 8. Saves: Laramie 6 (Andrew Amen 6). Sheridan 2 (Cole Smith 2). Fouls: Laramie 17, Sheridan 14. Offsides: Laramie 1, Sheridan 0. Corner kicks: Laramie 3, Sheridan 4. Cards: Laramie: Andrew Barbour (yellow), Vitor Nazareth (yellow), Alex Young (yellow), Alejandro Gil-Iglesias (yellow. Sheridan: Drew Slikker (yellow), Scott Brown (yellow).
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